Comfort
by jidashia
Summary: One-Shot. Papyrus finally understands what exactly has been off about Sans and now he tries his best to help. (Papyrus being a cinnamon roll.) Takes place after the Pacifist Route, i.e. the monsters are now living on the surface.


Papyrus sighed tiredly.  
He had been staring at the screen of his laptop for hours, sitting at the kitchen table, doing research on this very complex and confusing topic, and he needed a break.  
He put his face in his hands and took a moment to close his eyes and try to process what he had learned so far.

He had a feeling he might have bitten off more than he could chew this time, because for every thing that suddenly seemed to make sense there were at least two more new questions that popped up.  
And to think that he had been completely carefree until after his conversation with Undyne this morning. But ever since then, what she had said just kept replaying over and over in his head..  
 _„I'm just not sure what to do about Alphys. So I thought, maybe you got any tips? You know, since she and Sans kinda have similar conditions..."  
_ But Papyrus had not, in fact, known what his friend was even talking about, and what ensued was a very awkward conversation with a flustered Undyne who was afraid she might have said something she was not supposed to.  
He always made a point of being happy and confident around others, but in reality he was full of doubt. And as it turned out, rightfully so. If only he had proven himself to be trustworthy, maybe then Sans would have talked to him. Told him about it.  
They could have tried to figure this out together. After all, that was what brothers were for, wasn't it? Sure, he had known that Sans did keep a lot of secrets, even from him, but he had hoped-

„uh, bro? you okay?"  
Papyrus got pulled out of his musings by the sound of his brother's voice suddenly appearing right behind him, together with the light being switched on.  
Startled, he jumped out of his chair, which got knocked over by the brusque movement, and slammed the laptop shut.  
„H-Hello, Brother! I see you have returned. Welcome Home!", he said, trying to act his usual boisterous self, but his brother did not seem entirely convinced.  
„yeah. something the matter? why were you sitting in the dark like that?", Sans inquired carefully, his posture bent, hands in his pockets, looking like nothing could ever make him lose his calm.  
For a second, Papyrus studied him, tried to find something he might have missed, a clue to tell him what really happened inside Sans' head. But, as always, he found nothing out of the ordinary.  
Which either meant Sans was simply too good at pretending – or he himself was too bad at noticing. But he quickly snapped out of it again, and replied cheerfully:  
„ Nyeh, why, I am of course completely fine! I have been...looking for new recipes online and was so immersed in it, that I did not notice that so much time has passed already. But worry not, for now, you have my full attention and I shall get to making your dinner immediately. After all, you must be very hungry after another day of work."  
He did not know whether Sans believed him, but at least his brother just shrugged.  
„nah, don't worry, i'm good. but i'm pretty tired so i'll head to bed now. just wanted to say g'night."

Papyrus frowned.  
„Alright. I mean, if you are certain you do not need anything..." Sans just nodded.

„Well then. Good Night, Brother. Rest well and be ready for the glorious breakfast which shall await you in the morning, prepared by me, the Great Papyrus. Nyehehe."  
Sans' grin grew slightly wider.  
„will do", he said, and went to bed.  
After waiting for several minutes to make sure his brother would not change his mind and suddenly reappear in the kitchen, he opened the laptop again and got back to where he had left off.  
He opened yet another site, which simply had one word in its header, written in fat black letters: DEPRESSION.

Once he woke up, Sans checked the clock on his phone. 11:53am. That was odd.  
Even though he did not have to work today, Papyrus would usually wake him up before he went to his job himself, so the could at least have breakfast together. Confused he sat up and tried to guess what might be different today, when he noticed a bright yellow sticky note on his bedside table.

 **Good morning, Brother. Or possibly afternoon, knowing your sleeping habits. Regarding your hard work, i decided to let you sleep in today. I have prepared your food and put it in the fridge for you. Enjoy your free day.**

That was unusual, but Sans decided not to question didn't look a gift horse in the mouth, did you?  
He lazily rolled out of bed, put on his slippers, and got ready to shuffle out of the room, when he noticed yet another sticky note on the inside of his door. No, two even.

 **I am not sure how to go about this. It is all very confusing for me. But I am trying and I hope I am doing it right.**

 **You are very important to me Sans. I want you to know this and always remember it. You can talk to me about anything, whenever you feel like it.**

O-kay. Now Sans was utterly perplexed by all this. His brother liked to show affection, but this was definitely out of the ordinary. What might have gotten Papyrus so worked up? He flipped over both notes, but there was nothing on the other side, which might have answered his questions.  
Still wondering about this he opened the door, stepped out of his room, turned towards the stairs that would lead him downstairs... And came to an abrupt halt.  
There were sticky notes in every colour covering all the walls, as far as he could see, from floor to ceiling, most of them covered in Papyrus' big, prominent writing, but some, as he discovered after a closer inspection, were also written by several other people he knew, and they all held short, personal messages for him.  
There was also one bigger letter, pinned right next to his door

 **Sans,** **I do not know much about Depression but I will look more deeply into it and I hope maybe some day you will be comfortable enough to talk to me about it, as I can only imagine what you must be going through.**

 **In the meantime I shall make sure to keep cheering you on. Just remember that you are loved and that I will support you, no matter what.  
I contacted Undyne yesterday because I wanted to write you some notes and asked her if she thought this might be a good idea.  
When I collected the mail this morning, apparently word had already spread and our letterbox was filled with messages from people who love and care for you, so I will be posting these as well.  
I'm off to work now, but I'll see you this evening. Please take at least this one day to rest.  
-Papyrus**

Sans was speechless. What was going on? How did Papyrus-?  
If he had not been fully awake before, he certainly was now. He felt a lump in his throat and a warmth spreading throughout his body, as he read some of the notes while making his way towards the stairs in a daze.

 **You're the best brother in the world**

 **Don't give up**

 **You can always count on your friends**

 **Heya, Punk. Sorry I kinda busted you, but maybe this'll be good for ya. Keep fighting, lazy boy. -Undyne**

 **I'm sorry you are going through this as well. Maybe...I could recommend a good psychotherapist if you want...i hope this doesn't sound rude, omg, I'm sorry if it does. -Alphys**

 **Sans. Stay determined. I love you. -Frisk**

 **Hello, Sans. Frisk said we're writing motivational notes for you, so, please, know that we all love you. Also, I baked a pie, so if you want you and Papyrus can come over to eat some? -Toriel**

 **Howdy, Sans. I'm not entirely sure what is going on in your life, but if you ever feel the need to talk, know that I'll happily listen to you over a cup of tea. -Asgore**

 **Sans. It's going to be okay. I'll always have an open ear for you. And please pay your tab. -Grillby**

And there were so many more, even downstairs, Sans noticed, as he made his way to the kitchen. He barely noticed the tears streaming down his face, as he walked towards the fridge with the hugest and most genuine smile he'd had on his face in years. This was the best day he'd had in a very, very long time. Maybe living on the surface wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

 ** _Okay, you guys, it's currently 05:39am here where I'm at and I have spent all of this night drinking Vodka, so there are probably loads of mistakes in this one. Feel free to point them out, I might rewrite parts of this one of these days._**  
 ** _That being said...This was written out of my own need for comfort in my depression. (I desperatetly need a Papyrus in my life.)_**  
 ** _Dedicated to everyone out there who's struggling. I feel with you and we will get through this._**

 ** _Update: added a note for Asgore!_**


End file.
